Fishing vessel



G. LEHMANN FISHING VESSEL Aug. 28, 1951 Filed Feb. 25, 1950 Patented Aug. 28, 1951 FISHING VESSEL Gnther Lehmann, Yonkers, N. Y.

Application February 23, 1950, Serial No. 145,871 In Germany October 21, 1948 1 claim. (or 114-05) The invention here disclosed is a fishing vessel havmg net handling and fish processing equipment.

Objects of the invention primarily are to provide in a ship of this sort, clear net-handling deck space at a low level near water level, free from running net ropes; to provide open deck space at a higher lever above and to the side of the net-Working space, for the landing and unloading of the nets and close association and communication of this clear net-unloading space with the processing equipment; proper enclosure of the processing machinery in a protected Working space closely adjoining the open, net-unloading deck and, in general, the stabilizing of trawling operations.

The operation of a fish factory vessel requires, ilrst of all, that the machines for the processing of the sh be arranged ina closed space favorably situated from an operational standpoint, protecting the valuable machines from injury by the sea and the weather and, at the same time, assuring proper working condition for the crew.

Secondly, the factory vessel should itself trawl the fishing net and be able'to take the catch aboard in a customaryl or approved manner.

The arrangement of the iish processing machinery in a. closed space suitably related to the sh hold, leads to the suggestion of the construction of shelter-deck fishing vessels. While this has been proposed, the shelter-deck fishing vessel has not been accepted in deep sea shing due to the fact that the increased height of the shelter-deck vessel above water level makes net work diflicult or impossible in the hauling in and setting out operations and renders the shelterdeck vessel impractical as a self-trawling fishing boat. Increased height of the net working platform above water level is to be avoided in all events for fishing boats. Therefore, in a new type of fishing vessel rst consideration must be given this need that the net work be carried out from a deck lying only slightly above the water.

To meet the needs of easy net operation, the requirement for a working space for the sh factory equipment and in a favorable position for transportation and processing of the sh from the net through the fish factory to the fish holds, the present invention proposes to construct fishing vessels in accordance with the trunk-deck design of vessel. This trunk-deck form of selftrawling fishing vessel is a new and important contribution to the art.

The trunk-deck fishing vessel proposed by the present invention avoids the great drawbacks inherent in the shelter-deck fishing vessel. The trunk-deck fishing vessel possesses, first of all, the necessary working space, enclosed on all sides and located over the sh hold, and further makes possible, due to the free deck surface, in addition to the trunk, of the principal deck, the accomplishing of the net Work for hauling in and setting out, as practiced with customary onedeck fishing vessels of low freeboard.

This new trunk-deck fishing boat thus fulfills the two principal requirements of a fish factory vessel in a technically perfect manner, namely: a closed Working space and unhindered net work `which can be carried out according to best approved practice.

inasmuch as the net work, generally speaking, is only effected on vone side of the ship, it is further proposed as a part of this invention, to construct the superstructure deck in the manner 0f a trunk only on one side of the ship and to carry the superstructure deck on the other side out to the outer plating in the manner of a shelter-deck By this novel construction of combining the features of a trunk-deck vessel with features of a shelter-deck vessel, there is provided an incomplete shelter-deck vessel, which might be termed a semi-shelter-deck vessel, permitting the net work to be carried out as prescribed, at the side of the vessel on a deck only a short distance above the water, and at the same time affording a large factory space extending to the other side of the ship for the housing of the fish machinery, deep-freeze plant and the like, a space considerably larger than would be a normal trunk.

The design of ship last discussed as the salient part of the invention, the semi-shelter-deck fishing vessel, combines the advantages of the conventional single deck, full-scantling fishing vessels with respect to easy net work, with the advantages ofthe shelter-deck fishing vessels in regard to placing of fish machinery and crew in a closed working space protected from the sea and weather.

The provision of a trunk or semishelterdeck on the main deck assures further advantages for fishing vessels. By the transfer of the catch to the trunk-deck or semi-shelter-deck, the catch is protected from breaking seas and will not, in the event of stormy weather, be washed back into the sea. Furthermore, the crew can prepare the catch on the trunk-deck orl semishelter-deck, which surface is an asserting and or liver oil.

lesser metacentric height than previous fulln The lesser metacentric scantling fishing boats.

height in the trunk-deck or semi-shelter-deck shing boats is imparted as a matter of' cou-rse,

to parts of the ship, for example, the heavy fishing net winch arranged higher on the trunk or semi-shelter-deck than in` a fullf-scantlin-g fishing vessel. As a consequence the. rollof the ship is more gentle or less violent than fullscantling vessels, with resulting beneficial effect' on all the work on board.

:if The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawing forming part of `this specification.

, In this drawing,

Fig. -1Yis a diagrammatic side elevation of a trunk-deck or semi-shelter-deck form of fishing vessel embodying Ythe invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan diagrammatic representation of the trunk-deck fishingvvessel;

Figs. 3 ande are'broken cross sectional diagrammatic views on substantially the planes of 4 lines 3 3 and III-3, respectively, of` Fig. 2;

'muy the piane of une c s of Fig.

' The vessels shown are designed for carrying `out all fishing operations and for preparation of fish fillets, fish meal and oil, as well as for drying of fish.

The catch is emptied from the net onto the trunk-deck or semi-shelter deck and there assorted and cut.

rl'lek fish. vto be processed are passed through hatches 2 of trunk-deck or semi-shelter-deck I into the processing space 3 located in the trunk.

Thev scraps and liver pass through hatches 4 into space 5 for transformation into fish meal The train and fish oilk tanks are located below space 5. The storage hold 'I for the fish meal is located directly below space 5'.

The fish which are boned, beheaded and flayed, by machine or by hand in working space 3, are passed or conveyed as shown by arrow 8 to space 5, wherein the packing machines are located. The bones and head portions pass, as shown by arrow 8, from the Working space 3 into space 5, where they are transformed into fish meal.

The fish which have been transformed in working spaces 3 and. 5 into deep-frozen packed `fillets, ready forv use in the kitchen, are passed by any suitable known conveyor means in the direction of arrow 9 from the working space 5 into the insulated, cold storage hold It.

The fish scrap from the cutting, not utilized for fish meal, is washed overboard from the trunk-deck or semi-shelter deck I through scuppers II. These scuppers, as shown in Fig. 3, are hingedly mounted at 32 so that they may .be drawn back to not interfere with the net work.

Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 3, the scuppers or chutes II are divided and arranged to be hinged at the center, at 33, so that they may swing inward away from the trawl warp or drag line I 3.

To facilitate the floating or washing away 0f the fish scrap from the trunk-deck or semishelter-deck to the chutes II, leading outboard, the inner, stationary portions I5 of the trunkdeck or semi-shelter-deck, overlapping the trunk walls III,V are in the form of gutters or scuppers.

The fore and aft gallows rolls I6, I'I, for the guiding of the fore and aft drag lines I2, I3,

are mounted on outriggers I8 carried by the trunk walls I4 at the level of the trunk-deck I.

For the guiding of the aft drag line I3, the Outrigger supports I8 carry within the area of the fore gallows roll IS, a horizontal roll I3 directed toward the center of the ship. The change of direction of the drag lines I2, I3, is effected over inboard rolls or ,blocks 2f), 2|, to the Winches 34 located amidships, all at substantially the same, trunk-:deck level.

`In order to reduce the hoisting height of the net when transferring the catch onto the trunkdeck I, the railings or bulwarks. 22 of the trunkdeck or semi-shelter-dec-k are hingedY at 32 Vto swing downward out of the way, as indicated by the, broken arrow, Fig. 3.

Figs. 5 and 6 illustrate the invention embodied in a semi-shelter-deck` form of fishing vessel.

The. catching and processing is effected in this design in the same manner Yas first described.

Thev semi-shelter-deck 24 extends from the side wall 2.5, built in the4 manner of a trunk, to the outer plating 25 at the opposite side of' the ship, providing extension of the. fish factory space 2l.

The net work is effected from the part 28 ofthel main deck lyingnext to. the fish factory space 21.

The drag lines are, so guided in the semishelter-deck shing vessel that the fore drag line I2, as previously, is led over the reversing roll 20 tothe fore gallows roll I6, and the drag line leading tothe aft gallows is led over the reversing rolls 2I, 29, 30, along the outboard side of' the semi-shelter-deck astern to the gallows roll 3l.

In both forms of the invention the working platforms, 23 in Figs. 3 and 4 and 28 in Fig. 5, are clear and free of running ropes and the drag linesl are kept at the same level, without vertical travel.

The enclosed working space beneath the trunkdeck or semi-shelterdeck and the cold storage sh holds beneath the same are in the amidships portion ofthe vessel where the pitching effect is least and working conditions are best for the fish processing operations.

What is claimed is:

A semi-shelter-deck fishing and fish processing ship having a low, open, net-handling deck, close to water level and providing a stable, low level, accessible working platform for handling the nets and having an additional open, net-unloading deck above said net-handling deck providing a wide platform for net-unloading and catch slaughtering purposes, said net-unloading deck extending from a side of the ship inwardly and terminating at a point short of the other side of the ship, in a zone along the major portion of the length of' the ship, a trunk wall extending from theinner edge of said net-handling deck generally vertically to said second mentioned deck, and a second Wall extending generally vertically between said decks and along said first mentioned side, thereby providing net-handling space along said rst mentioned deck and fish handling space on the deck thereabove, hatch- Ways in said second mentioned deck to aord access to the space therebelow, gallows at the outer edge of the net-handling deck and approximately at the level of the fish handling deck foi keeping the net-handling deck clear of net ropes, buiwark elements along the side of the ship and extending above the sh handling deck, and drainage means in said fish handling deck to conytrol the weight of water thereon to aid in stabiliz-ing the ship.

GNTHER LEHMANN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Number D. 140,505 1,115,752 5 2,377,693 2,413,918

Number 1 0 11,280

6 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date i Hannevig Mar. 6, 1945 Vick Nov. 3, 1914 Johnson June 5, 1945 Harris Jan. 7, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain of 1886 Great Britain Nov. 22, 1897 

